A message from Andrew Rasiej, Tech President's Publisher

Thank you for visiting techPresident, where politics and technology meet. We’re asking our readers to help support the site. Let us tell you why:

Since 2007, we've expanded techPresident's staff and daily work to exhaustively look at how technology is changing politics, government and civic life. To provide the independent and deeply informed journalism we do, we need to find ways to support this growth that will allow us to keep the majority of our content free.

Online Ad Targeting is Going Local

An outside group backing a Democratic candidate for Congress in New York is using highly targeted web ads to reach potential voters. With lots of talk about targeting at the presidential level, it's worth noting as smaller campaigns adopt the same practice.

A group affiliated with Emily's List called "Women Vote!" has so far dropped $38,000 in online advertising to support Grace Meng, a candidate for the Democratic nod to replace Rep. Gary Ackerman in New York's 6th District, City and State reported last week.

Instead of using traditional targeting methods to place ads that might reach women voters in the 6th district, WOMEN VOTE! is targeting specific individuals via their IP addresses and cookies that are commercially available and matched back to the voter file, ensuring that Democratic women who are registered to vote in NY-06, vote somewhat frequently in primaries and are between the ages of 25 and 60 receive clear information about the opportunity to send a hard-working progressive woman to Congress.

The bureau chief at TechPresident's NY-07 outpost in Queens also saw ads for Meng, who has the backing of both the incumbent Ackerman and The New York Times. The New York Daily News has endorsed one of her opponents, Assemblyman Rory Lancman, for the Democratic nod.